Combined filling and dispensing valve for containers for compressed fluids



J. E. MULLER COMBINED FILLING AND DISPENSING VALVE FOR April 27, 1965CONTAINERS FOR COMPRESSED FLUIDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 31, 1961 EM L mu WE N H O J AA-n3 AT RNEY April 27, 1965 J. E. MULLER COMBINEDFILLING AND DISPENSING VALVE FOR CONTAINERS FOR COMPRESSED FLUIDS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 51, 1961 R E RL T H U N W N Em w l A N H O J BUnited States Patent Ofi hifififi'i Patented Apr. 27, 1965 ice COMBINEDFILLING Ahil) DISPENSING VALVE FOR CQNTAINERS FOR COMPRESSED FLUIDS JohnE. Muller, Monroe, N.Y., assignor to Acme Air Appliance (10., End,Hackensack, NJ., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 31, 1961, Ser. No.135,262 12 Claims. (Cl. 141-26) This invention relates to a valvestructure and more particularly to a filling and dispensing valve forvessels which contain liquefied, semi-liquid, or gaseous material undersuperatmospheric pressure.

The filling of compressed fluids into containers from which they may bedispensed for use is presently accomplished for the most part by eitherof two procedures. According to one procedure, the material with whichthe container is to be filled is chilled to liquefy it and the liquefiedmaterial is poured into an opening of the container. A closure is thensealed to the opening. This procedure requires that the filling andsealing operations be carried out at a temperature below thevaporization temperature of the material and, therefore, requires theuse of expensive refrigeration equipment.

According to another procedure, sometimes referred to as undercapfilling, the closure is held in sealed relation to but above thecontainer opening by a tubular member disposed between the container andthe closure. This tubular member provides jet openings through which thecontainer is filled with the compressed fiuid, following which theclosure is lowered and crimped onto the container body. While thisprocedure may be carried out at room temperatures, it is neverthelesstime consuming and cumbersome.

In the use of either of the practices above mentioned, the assembly ofthe closure with the container cannot be completed until after thecontainer is filled, a fact obviously detrimental to mass productiontechniques. Once the dispensing closure is fixed to the body of thecontainer, filling of the container is no longer feasible except by useof the minute orifice provided in the dispensing valve for regulatingthe delivery of the pressurized material.

While it has been proposed to fill containers through the dispensingorifices of valves previously fixed to the containers, such a practiceis obviously of limited value since those orifices are made quite smallin order to provide the required limited rate of delivery of thematerial.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a combinedfilling and dispensing valve which can be completely assembled with acontainer for a compressed fiuid material before the container is filledand yet through which the filling can be carried out quickly andefiiciently.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved valveconstruction for containers for compressed fluids which is quite simpleand is inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dispensing andfilling valve which serves also as a relief or safety valve to releaseany pressure in the container in excess of a predetermined safepressure. Thus a single valve structure fulfills three importantfunctions, becoming a combined filling, dispensing and relief valve.

According to the present invention, a valve body member adapted to beassembled with a housing member, such as a closure cap or otherprotruding portion of the wall of a container, is made to form twodistinct passageways for conducting fiuid between the interior and theexterior of the container, one of the passageways normally being closedby a valve element or stem that is movable by a force applied to it fromoutside the container, such as by finger pressure, to open thispassageway for the dispensing of fluid under pressure from thecontainer; and the other passageway, which is made with a size suitablefor the desired quick filling of the container, lay-passes thedispensing passageway and normally is kept closed by yieldable sealingmeans that move so as to open, and to enable quick filling of thecontainer through, the filling passageway in response to the pressure ofa compressed fluid material supplied into its outer end.

By virtue of this construction, the valve can be completely assembledand sealed on the container before the filling of the container, and thefilling still can be efiected quickly and inexpensively; and when thecontainer is full, or when the pressure of the material within itreaches a desired value in relation to the filling pressure, the sealingmeans return to closed position and will keep the filling passagewaysecurely closed during the use of the container.

According to a further feature of the invention, the valve element orstem that is movable to open the dispensing passageway is provided witha head coacting with and positionable by elastically deformable meansprovided as an integral part of the body member of the valve, whichmeans yield and build up a counterpressure on the head under the forceused to move the stem from its normal position, so that thecounterpressure will move the stem back to its original position whenthe force displacing it is released. By virtue of this feature, theinvention provides a dispensing valve for containers for compressedfiuids which is self-closing but which does not require the use of acoil spring for biasing the valve to closed position. Further, all ofthe parts of this valve can be made of non-metallic materials which willresist and will not contaminate or be corroded by substances to bestored in and dispensed from the containers.

According to still another feature of the invention, the combineddispensing and filling valve is made to serve as a relief valve too, byproviding it with further yieldable sealing means which will move inresponse to an excessive or unsafe fluid pressure within the containerso as to release the excess pressure and thus give protection againstexplosion of the container. These means may be provided, for example, inaccordance with the disclosure of a copending United States patentapplication of Paul F. Shmid and John E. Muller, Serial No. 54,001,filed September 6, 1960, now United States Patent No. 3,083,- 882.

The valve structure provided by this invention may be usedadvantageously, for example, for Feon gas containers used inrefrigeration systems or for portable compressed propane or butanecontainers used for gas burners.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be further apparent from the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings of an illustrative embodimentof the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an axial cross-sectional view of the valve structure mountedin a top Wall of a container and having a dispensing adaptor coupledthereto;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but with a filling adaptor showncoupled to the structure;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the valve body;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary axial sectional View of the valve body and stemin pressure relieving conditions; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the several parts.

The valve construction illustrated in the drawings is an assembly offive distinct parts or pieces having forms which are evident from theexploded view of FIG. 5. These parts include a housing member 11 in theform of an end closure as commonly used for aerosol containers, atubular body 20, a tubular valve stem which holds a sealing ring and isreciprocable within the body 20, and

' opening'forrned in the'top wall of the container 13. The

container opening is bordered by a rolled rim 14 over which a peripheralflange 13 of the closure is crimped,

preferably with a sealing gasket 15 inserted in-between, so as to sealthe closure tightly to the container.

The hollow housing portion 12 protrudes upwardly and centrallyfromthe.bottom wall 16 of the closure and comprises a tubular side wall 17and an end wall 18 in which a central aperture 19 is formed. Radialslots 34 extend from the margin of aperture 19 through part of the endwall 18. V

The tubular valve body 20 as shown is formed entirely of rubber or othersuitable elastorner material, as a unitary molded piece thereof. Itincludes an upper tubular portion23 and a lower tubular portion 24 ofreduced diame- 'ter. The. lower portion terminates in an end wall havingan opening 25 formed in it to keep its interior in communication withthe interior of the container. The upper portion 23 is formed near itsupper end with an external elastic rib or ring 22 which surrounds and issloped downwardly and outwardly from the body 20 so' as normally to 1bear around its freeedge in fluid-tight contact with the innersurface ofthe surrounding housing wall 17 and the body 20 and butts against thebase of an annular recess 28 bordered by the elastic sealing ring 22, soas tobe overhung by that ring. The .ferrule or mounting ring 27 has aflange 29 projecting radially from it for tight engagement with theinner surface of housing wall 17. For assembly of these parts, themounting ring 27 is moved onto the body 20 until it butts against thebase of recess 28, and then it is forced with body 20 into housingportion 12 until its flange is tightly fitted against wall 17 and 'a'mounting ring or ferrule 27 by which the body 29 is assembled and heldsecurely within an upstanding hollow' 1 open position, as shown in FIG.1, the dispensing port is.

chamber 31, hence with the interior of the container.

4 the opening 25, and theupper chamber is normally isolated from theinterior of the container but always in communication withthe aperture19 in the closure end wall'18. The stem 41 has a small dispensing port44 leading radially into its tubular portion 42 at a location near itsend wall 43, When the stem is in'its upper or normal position withinbody 20, the dispensing port 44 is sealed off by the rib or ring 21 fromcommunication with the lower, chamber 31; and thus the valve structureis closed so that pressurized materialis held securely in the container.When the stem 41 is depressed to its lower or disposed below rib 21 incommunication with the lower in this position, fluidunder pressure inthecontainer enters port 44- and passes axially through the valve stem fordelivery to the exterior of the container.

The valve stem '41), is normally held in its closed or i upper positionand is biased back to that position when the upper end of body 20 islocated at the lower surface of I wall 18.

The body 20 as so assembled is spaced from the surrounding wall 17 byring-27 and from the end wall 18 by beads or raised portions 26 whichare formed integrally with and spaced apart about the end of the uppertubular portion '26. The flange 29 of ring 27 is cut away atsuitablelocations, being, for example, slotted radially at several spaced pointsas indicated at 30, so as not to block or seal the fluidpassagewayprovided by the spacing of the upper body portion 23 from the housingportion 12.

While that passageway normally is kept sealed by the engagement ofthe'elastic rib or ring 22 with wall 17, as

rigid'material and includes a radially enlarged head portion 41 and anelongated tubularportion 42'closed by.

wall 43 at its lower end. The outer surface of the tubular I portion 42is normally in-fluid-tight sealing engagement with an elastic rib orring 21 formed integrally with and' extending radially inwardly frombody 20 at a location intermediate the upper and lower body portions23'and 24. The tubular portion 42 and the inner sealing ring 21.

to ether divide the interior of body 21 into lower and upper chambers 31and 32. The lower chamber is always i ommunication with the interior ofcontainer 10 through excess pressure,"as shown in FIG. 4, so that thefluid, under excess pressure will escape around thestem in the depressedto open port 44 for dispensing, by the coaction' of the enlarged headportion 41 with elastic ribs 33 which extend longitudinally of andradially inwardly from the inside of the upper tubular body portion 23;These ribs are molded as an integral part of the body 219. They arespaced apart about the inside of portion 23, and they slope V inwardlyprogressively from their upper ends, as seen in FIG. 5. They engage therounded periphery of head 41 so as normally to hold that head and stemportion 42 in their upper position. When the valve stem is moveddownwardly to its dispensing position, the ribs 33- are coil springusually required in self-closing container valves,

and important advantages can be realized in the rnanufacture, useand'maintenanceof such valves.

The inner sealing ring or rib 21 is made with such a resistance todeformation that it will stay in tight sealing engagement with the valvestem 41 as long as'the fluid pressure in the container does not exceed apredetermined safe value. Yet it is made with suflicient elasticity orflexibility that if the pressure in the container exceeds apredetermined safe value, it will yield and be moved out of sealingengagement with the valve stem under the direction of the arrows 46 intothe upper chamber 32, passing therein between theribs 33 and around head41 and then through the aperture 19 and slots 34 to the exterior of thecontainer. This releasing of the excess fluid pressure takes placeirrespective of the position of the valve stem. It serves the importantpurpose of preventmg explosion of the container in the event of aninadvertent building up of excess pressure therein, for example, if thecontaineris used-for a volatile material and happens to becomeoverheated. r

The radially enlarged head 41 of the stem 40, as shown, fulfills afunction in addition to that of coacting with the elastic ribs 33 tobias the valve stemto closed position.

it defines centrally within it a cavity 47 which is open at its upperend and communicates with the axial passage in the stem, and which isaligned with the aperture 19 in the end wall 18 of member 11.

The cavity is bordered "by an elastic sealing ring 45, for example, anO-ring,

which surrounds and overlies an abutment surface 48 tainer or adispensing adapter to be applied to the container and used fordispensing fluid under pressure from the container.

s a es 4 A suitable filling adapter assembled with and acting to chargepressurized material through the valve structure is shown at 50 in FIG.2.

This adapter has a neck 51 which passes through aperture 19 and intocavity 47 of head 41 so as to butt at its end against surface 43 and begripped and sealed circumferentially by ring 45. An axial bore 53 in theadapter communicates with a suitable source of the pressurized material.Ports 54 open radially from bore 53 through neck 51 at a location abovethe sealing ring 45. The body of the adapter carries at its end outsidehollow portion 12 another sealing ring 52, for example, another 0- ring,in position to bear and form a fluid-tight seal against the face of wall18 when the adapter is pressed downward with its neck 51 seated in thehead of the valve stem.

Accordingly, when the adapter is so assembled with the valve structureand the pressurized material is passed through bore 53, the materialflows freely from the neck ports 54- into the upper end of the spacebetween body 20 and housing portion 12 and then through that space, asindicated by the arrows in FIG. 2, so as to press against and deforminwardly the outer sealing rib or ring 22 and thus flow past that ringinto the container. When the container has been filled, the fillingadaptor is withdrawn, whereupon the elastic outer rib or ring 22 returnsto its sealed position against wall 17 and the elastic ribs 33 returnthe valve stem 49 to its closed position.

A suitable dispensing adapter assembled with the valve structure and indispensing position is shown at 60 in FIG. 1. This adapter has a neck 61formed with an axial passageway 63 for carrying away the fluid deliveredfrom the container. The neck 61 extends through aperture 19 and isseated and sealed in the head of stem 4% as described in connection withneck 51 of adapter 59. Spaced about the neck 61 and mounted on the bodyof the adapter are resilient legs 62 of rubber or other suitablematerial, which snap slidingly inside the rim of closure member 11, soas to be retained in the annular recess provided around hollow portion12 by the dished formation of the closure member.

The dispensing adapter having been placed in its operative position, asseen in FIG. 1, the valve stem 4t? is held in open position with itsdispensing port 44 disposed below ring 21 and in communication with theinterior of the container; so pressurized fluid flows out of thecontainer through the valve stem and through the aligned axialpassageway 63 in the dispensing adapter. The flow of the fluid may befurther cont-rolled by a valve (not shown) beyond the adapter. lVhen thecontainer is empty or its use is to be discontinued, the dispensingadapter is pulled away from the closure 11, whereupon stem 49 is movedto closed position by the action of the elastic ribs 33.

It will thus be evident that the valve structure provided by the presentinvention enables the rapid filling of the container with which it isemployed, after the container and the valve have been completelyassembled. It further provides for the desired controlled dispensing ofmaterial from the container and gives protection against explosion ofthe container in the event of an excessive fluid pressure building upwithin the container.

The stem 4i) and the ferrule 27, as well as other parts of the valvestructure, may be formed of an inert mate rial, such as a suitablerubber, synthetic resin or other plastics composition, when the valvestructure is to be used on containers for foodstuffs or other substancesthat may be adversely affected by or may be corrosive to metals.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been illustratedand described in detail herein, it is to be understood that theinvention is not limited to this embodiment and that various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the invention which isintended to be defined by the appended claims.

6 What is claimed is: l. A combined filling, dispensing and relief valvefor a compressed fluid container or the like, comprising a housingmember,

a body member carried by said housing member and forming a passagewayfor dispensing from the container material under pressure therein,

a movable valve element disposed within said body member and normallyclosing said passageway, said element being movable relative to saidbody memher by a force applied to it, from outside the container to opensaid passageway for dispensing,

means on said body member forming a filling passageway by-passing saiddispensing passageway,

sealing means normally closing the filling passageway against the escapeof said material from within the container but displaceable by thepressure of pressurized material supplied to the filling passageway fromoutside the container to charge such material into the container, and

an elastic sealing rib on said body member normally in sealing contactwith said movable valve element but displaceable by an excess pressureof material within the container to discharge said material through saidbody member for relief of the excess pressure.

2. A valve comprising a tubular housing member,

a tubular body member disposed within and spaced from said housingmember,

a tubular valve stem disposed within said body member,

said body member having thereon an external elastic rib normally closingthe space between said members by sealing engagement with the innersurface of said housing member, and having thereon an internal elasticrib normally in sealing engagement with the outer surface of said stem,

said stem having a dispensing port leading thereinto and being movableaxially relative to said body member between a closed position wheresaid port is disposed to one side of said internal rib and a dispensingposition where said port is disposed to the other side of said internalrib to open the valve for the discharge of fluid under pressuretherethrough from one end of said body member,

said external rib being displaceable out of sealing engagement with saidinner surface by fluid pressure admitted into said space around theother end of said body member and being sloped toward said One end toprevent flow of fluid under pressure through said space from said oneend,

said internal rib being movable out of sealing engagement with said stemby an excess of pressure at said one end to release the excess pressurebetween said internal rib and said stem.

3. A combined filling and dispensing valve for a compressed fiuidcontainer or the like, comprising a housing member having a hollowportion centrally apertured at one end,

a tubular body member disposed within said portion and spaced from theinner surface thereof,

a tubular valve stem 'reciprocable axially within said body member,

said body member having an internal sealing rib thereon normally insealing engagement with said stem,

said stern having a dispensing port leading radially thereinto andnormally disposed to one side of said rib but movable to the other sidethereof by movement of said stem to open the valve for dispensing,

said body member further having an external elastic rib thereon normallybearing in sealing engagement against said inner surface but movable outof such engagement by fiuid pressure admitted to the space between saidbody member and said hollow portion at said one end for the filling ofpressurized material into the container, said external rib being slopedto ward the otherend of said body portion so as to keep said spacesealed under fluid pressure admitted to it from said other end, 7

a plurality of longitudinal elastic ribs extending radially inwardlyfrom and spaced apart about the inner side 1 to its original position bythe pressure of said longitudinal ribs on said head.v V 4. A valve asclaimed in claim 3, said head forming a socket that opens toward'and isaligned with the aperture in said hollow portion and communicates withthe interior of said stern, said socket being adapted to receive and tobe sealed against a tubular end ,of either a filling adaptor insertedthereinto for the delivery of pressuriZed fluid into said space fromsaid one end or a dis pensing adaptor inserted thereinto for thedispensing of pressurized fluid through the valve.

5. A valve comprising a molded tubular body member, a valve stemdisposed within said body member and reciprocable therein to open andclose the valve, said stern having a radially enlarged head thereon, aninner surface of said body member having thereon elastic portionsengaging said head to position said stem, said portions sloping inwardlytoward one end of'said body memher so as to bear elastically againstsaid head increasingly with movement of said stem toward said one'endand being operativeto return the stem to its original position uponrelease of the force causing such movement.

6."A valve as claimed in claim 5, said elastic portions comprising ribsmolded integrally with said body member and extending longitudinallyalong said surface at locations spaced about said surface; r

7. A valve structure for a compressed fluid container or t the like,comprising a housing member having an upstanding hollow portion andadapted to close an opening in the container,

a tubular body of'molded elastomeric material having i an upper portionreceived within said hollow portion, a mounting ring encompassing saidupper portion and having a flange pressed into tight engagement with theinner surface of said hollow portion to hold said I body securely insaid hollow portion, a tubular valve stem movable axially within saidbody, an inner sealing ring within said body normally in fluid tightcontact with the outer surface of said stem, said stem having adispensing port opening thereinto and normally blocked by said sealingring from communication with the lower portion of said body but movableinto such communication for dispensing fluid under pressure from thecontainer by axial movment of said stem, i

said hollow portion having an apertured end wall, said body being spacedfrom said end wall and from said inner surface to provide between saidbody'and said hollow portion a passageway for filling pressurizedmaterial into the container, and an outer elastic sealing ring extendingfrom said upper portion normally into fluid-tight contact with said r 8inner-surface to close outer ring being displaceabie out of such contactby fluid pressure admitted into the upper end of the space between saidbody and said hollow portion but being held in such contact by fluidpressure at its a lower side. 7 r

8. The valve structure of claim 7,

said mounting ring being seated on said upper portion beneath and beingoverhung by said outer sealing ring; i i

said flange being cut away so as not to close said passageway.

9. The valve structure of claim 7, V

said stern having a radially enlarged head thereon and said upperportion having longitudinal elastic ribs extending radially inward fromits inner side and engaging said head to bias said stem upwardly toclosed H position.

l0. Acornbined filling and dispensing valve fora compressed fluidcontainer or the like, comprising a housing member having a hollowportion including a substantially cylindrical wall, V

1 a tubular body mounted in said housing and having an elongated annularwall in annularly spaced relation to said housing wall to definetherebetwe'en a fiiling passageway; V

a valve element movable within said body. to provide a passageway fordispensing from the container material under pressure therein, 7 saidannular wall being formed between its extremities with an integralelastic annular sealing rib extending therefrom across the space betweensaid walls and normally bearing against said housing wall,

said rib beingslopedrelative to said housing wall so as to be maintainedin sealing engagement therewith by fluid pressure in the containeracting on one side of the rib and being displaceable out of sealingengagement therewith to open said filling passageway by fluid pressureacting against the other side of said rib when filling the container.

11. A valve according to claim l0, including a mounting ring seatedagainst the lower side of said sealing rib and having a flange pressedinto tight engagement with said housing wall to hold said body securelyin said hollow portion and in the aforesaid spaced relation thereto.

12. A valve according to claim 10, said housing hollow portion having anupper end wall formed with a central aperture,

and means holding the upper end of said body spaced below said housingend wall to provide between said body and said hollow portion apassageway extend- 7 ing from said aperture around said body for fillingcompressed fluid into the container.

References titted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/56 Carlson etal. 222--394 2,746,796 5/56 St. Germain 141- 20 XR 2,890,817 6/59Rheinstromvn' 141-20 XR 3,036,743

.5/62 Rhodes et al. 141-20 XR LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

LOUIS I. DEMBO, Examiner;

filling passageway, said

1. A COMBINED FILLING, DISPENSING AND RELIEF VALVE FOR A COMPRESSEDFLUID CONTAINER OR THE LIKE, COMPRISING A HOUSING MEMBER, A BODY MEMBERCARRIED BY SAID HOUSING MEMBER AN FORMING A PASSAGEWAY FOR DISPENSINGFROM THE CONTAINER MATERIAL UNDER PRESSURE THEREIN, A MOVABLE VALVEELEMENT DISPOSED WITHIN SAID BODY MEMBER AND NORMALLY CLOSING SAIDPASSAGEWAY, SAID ELEMENT BEING MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID BODY MEMBER BY AFORCE APPLIED TO IT FROM OUTSIDE THE CONTAINER TO OPEN SAID PASSAGEWAYFOR DISPENSING, MEANS ON SAID BODY MEMBER FORMING A FILLING PASSAGEWAYBY-PASSING SAID DISPENSING PASSAGEWAY, SEALING MEANS NORMALLY CLOSINGTHE FILLING PASSAGEWAY AGAINST THE ESCAPE OF SAID MATERIAL FROM WITHINTHE CONTAINER BUT DISPLACEABLE BY THE PRESSURE OF PRESSURIZED MATERIALSUPPLIED TO THE FILLING PASSAGEWAY FROM OUTSIDE THE CONTAINER TO CHARGESUCH MATERIAL INTO THE CONTAINER, AND AN ELASTIC SEALING RIB ON SAIDBODY MEMBER NORMALLY IN SEALING CONTACT WITH SAID MOVABLE VALVE ELEMENTBUT DISPLACEABLE BY AN EXCESS PRESSURE OF MATERIAL WITHIN THE CONTAINERTO DISCHARGE SAID MATERIAL THROUGH SAID BODY MEMBER FOR RELIEF OF THEEXCESS PRESSURE.